Skulling kit



Joseph Pullman Weadon, 4303 Earline A-ve., Columbus, (la.

[72] Inventor 31904 [21] Appl. No. 831,299 [22] Filed June 9, 1969 [45] Patented Oct. 20, 1970 [54] SKULLING KIT 1 Claim, 10 Drawing Figs.

3,030,641 4/1962 Ake i. 9/24 3,108,565 10/1963 Cain 9/24UX OTHER REFERENCES Sculling Over The Stern by P. W. Blandford, pp. 26- 7, Th Rudder, May, 1954.

Primary Examiner-Duane A. Reger Assistani Examiner-James E. Pittenger At!0rneyWilkinson, Mawhinney & Theibault ABSTRACT: The present disclosure is directed to a SKULLING KIT for use with a water vehicle for propelling same and which may be quickly attached and removed from the vehicle after use and which provides a removable skulling notch and oar in which the oar particularly cooperates with the notch to limit positioning of the oar relative to the notch along the length of the shaft of the oar by securing an annular ring on the oar shaft and providing the oar handle with a suregrip positive positioning feature to develop maximum propulsion thrusts even by a beginner skuller.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 282,856 8/l883 Davis 9/24 598,595 2/1898 Connell 9/26 Sheet 1 of 2 mm. Mk

IN V EN TOR. E WEADON IJKM ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 20, 1970 3,534,702

INVENTOR. d. I? WEADON u mw MM M ATTO YS SKULLING KIT An object of the present invention is the provision of a skulling kit for use with a water vehicle upon which a skulling notch in block form is removably detached, which notch cooperates with an oar having a blade, shaft, locating ring and handle to permit the water vehicle to be propelled by a mere push-pull motion of the arm and a rocking action of the wrist.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a skulling oar having an aligning and nonslipping handle feature to assure maximum propulsion per thrust unit, a thrust unit being a push or pull of the arm and a rocking action of the wrist to control oar blade attitude, cooperating with a skulling notch.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts.

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an improved oar forming an element of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 in FlG 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the skulling notch of the present invention showing the clamping means.

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of the notch of FIG. 4 from the right hand thereof.

FIG. 6 is an end elevational view of a rowboat with parts broken away showing the skulling kit of the present invention applied thereto.

FIG. 7 is a transverse vertical section through a rowboat having the kit of the present invention installed thereon and taken on the line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

FIGS. 8 through 10 are diagramatic views of the hand thrust and wrist positions on the oar of the skulling kit for propelling the boat.

Referring now to the drawings and for the moment to FIGS. 1 through 3, designates the oar of the skulling kit having a flat blade portion 21, a shaft 22 and a handle 23. Secured about the shaft 22 is an annular ring member 24 positioned along the shaft to act as a limit stop for postioning the oar relative to the fore and aft axis of the boat with which the device is used. Proximate the free end of the handle 23 is a cutout area defining a flat surface 25 the plane of which is at substantially a right angle to the main axis 26 of the oar blade 21. p

The skulling notch is a block 27 having an opening 28 therethrough. The top of the opening 28 is open or slotted at 29 to receive the shaft 22 of the oar therethrough, so that the notch acts as atransverse stop member as well as a bearing in which the shaft 22 is wiped during skulling operation. The opening 28 is slightly frustoconical to cooperate with the annular ring 24 which will limit the distance the blade 21 can be moved rearwardly. The notch block 27 is provided with bolt mount clamp members 30 having threaded attaching bolts 31 with ears 32 for manually turning the bolts 31 to tighten the notch block 27 to the rear transom of the boat.

As best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7 the skulling kit is applied to the stern of a rowboat 33, or other water vehicle, to one side of the center line of the vehicle, depending upon whether the skuller is right or left handed. The clamp members 30 which are secured to the notch block 27 are placed over the stern transom 34 and the threaded attaching bolts 31 are tightened. The shaft 21 of the oar 20 is passed through the slot 29 in the top of opening 28 and the oar is then moved along its axis until the ring 24 abuts against the walls of the opening.

The skuller then takes his seat on the boat stern seat 35 and in the situation depicted in FIG. 7 grasps the oar 20 with the left hand as shown in FIG. 8 such that the fingers of the left hand lie across the flat surface 25 and the oar 20 will not rotate in the hand of the skuller and the blade 21 will be in the correct position relative to the wrist of the skuller.

In the position of FIG. 8, being the origin position the blade 21 will have its flat axis horizontal when the wrist is moving terclockwise the blade 21 will become vertical and the handle 23 is moved in the direction of the arrow, the wrist is then rocked clockwise, as shown in FIG. 10 and the hand pulled as shown by the arrow, which action moves the rowboat 33 thrq ht s t Various manipulations of the wrists and pushing or pulling the arm of the sculler will produce the desired maneuverability of the boat i.e., turning to right or left and raising the handle tg provide a water break.

lclaim:

1. For use in skulling a boat having a rear transom, a skulling kit comprising a skulling notch block having an open topped truncated conical opening therethrough with the apex directed rearwardly of the transom, ar oar havir g a liade and shaft, an annular ring limit stop member secured about the shaft of the oar and being received in said notch thereagainst in bearing relationship therewith along the wall of the f l q fl i l.E l UPEQP QU notch w P y a se! the blade of the bar in the wat er relative to the boat, transom mounting means secured to the notch and adapted for removable attachment to the transom, and said oar shaft having a flat portion proximate the free end thereof along the main axis of the oar blade for positive proper engagement of the oar by the hand of the skuller and to avoid slippage and nondesired rotation of the oar.

downwardly as in FIG. 9, causing the oar oar to rotate coun- H g 

